


Heroes Never Die

by navochao



Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-08-19 01:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/navochao/pseuds/navochao
Summary: Based on the Porky's Prized Possession AU by cosmitasia.https://porkysprizedpossession.tumblr.com/





	1. When The Sun Goes Down

**Author's Note:**

> Note: We bumped up the year the game took place to 2007, and this fic takes place 2 years after the events of EarthBound in 2009

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey diddle-diddle won't you meet me in the middle  
Let the music make you fly  
Don't need to show no mercy cause heroes never die

**Thursday October 22nd, 2009**

Paula was exhausted. She had some extreme jet lag- jet lag that had caused her to completely sleep through church, but apparently her parents didn’t care about it _ that _ much because they let her sleep right on through it. She rolled over onto her side, looking at the clock on her bedside table. 

** 02:17 PM   
**   


Of course.

Even though Pu would be long asleep by now, Paula still dragged herself out of bed and over to her computer to wish him a happy Eagleland birthday. They may have celebrated his birthday all day yesterday (today? timezones are weird), it wasn’t his birthday in Eagleland quite yet. 

[02:19 PM] PaulaBear: Happy birthday again Pu.  
[02:20 PM] Jeffunit00: You slept in late  
[02:20 PM] PaulaBear: Jet lag.  
[02:20 PM] PaulaBear: Teleport lag?  
[02:21 PM] PaulaBear: Ness is probably still asleep too.  
[02:21 PM] PaulaBear: He walked home. He’s probably exhausted.  
[02:23 PM] Jeffunit00: Speaking of exhausted  
[02:23 PM] Jeffunit00: Its late here  
[02:23 PM] Jeffunit00: Night Paula  
[02:23 PM] PaulaBear: Sleep well! 

Paula pushed away from her desk, letting her desk chair push her over back to her bedside table. The chair stopped halfway to the bedside table, so she got up and walked the rest of the way to pick up her phone and sned a text to Ness.

_ 2:24 PM _

Hey if you’re not busy or extremely exhausted  
maybe I can come over for a late lunch?

_ Not delivered _

Paula stared at her phone for a minute, before trying to send the text again

_ Not delivered _

Well that’s new. She just assumed his phone died, or that he turned it off so he wouldn’t get woken up. Which was understandable. Paula turned her phone off silent then threw it onto the bed, heading towards her closet to pick out some clothes to wear. As much as she would like to be in pajamas all day, it didn’t seem like the best idea. It would just make her feel more tired. 

Just as Paula slipped on a yellow dress, she heard her phone ring and jumped onto her bed, grabbing it and answering it before even checking the number.

“Hello?”

“Paula?” Paula knew that voice. It was Tracy. But a significantly more worried sounding Tracy. “Weird question, but did Ness stay at your house last night?”

Paula began to chew on the inside of her cheek “No, don’t think so. He said he was going to walk back home after he dropped me off. Why?”

“Well, he’s not in his room… we don’t think he even came home at all.” 

“Hey- hey Trace, I can head over there if you want and we can look for him together if you want.”

“I already checked the arcade and the burger shop and the top of the hill.” Tracy sounded defeated. “But I wouldn’t be against checking again.”

“Alright, I’ll get there as fast as I can.” 

“Okay…” Tracy hung up on the other end.

Paula didn’t hesitate grabbing a pair of tennis shoes, a worn out messenger bag she kept in her closet for emergencies, and a sweater before hastily throwing her phone in the bag and putting the sweater on as she tried to rush out the door.

“Well good morning, sleepyhead! How was Dalaam? Do you want something-” 

Paula grabbed an apple out of a bowl of fruit sitting on the counter before cutting her mom off. “Sorry mom, I’ll tell you later. Have somewhere to be.”

“Well, do you have time to explain where this somewhere is?”

“Not really, sorry. See you for dinner!” Paula waved as she opened the door, running out and letting it slam behind her before she took off down the sidewalk towards Onett. 

Paula wasn’t exactly one to jump to conclusions, but her mind was certainly racing with different possibilities for what could be wrong. Ness doesn’t just disappear. It _ was _ late out, but Ness is too strong for anything to have actually happened.

As she left Twoson, Paula let herself slow down to a brisk walk instead of a full on sprint, mostly to conserve energy and also so she could eat the apple she had picked up. She was hungry, hibernating takes a lot out of a person. She clutched onto the strap of her bag with one hand, holding the half eaten apple in the other as she walked along the side of the road and watched for anything suspicious looking. The odd car would drive by every once in a while, and about halfway to Onett Paula was regretting not asking her mom or dad for a ride there. 

Just as she was about ready to call Tracy and see if her mom could come pick her up, Paula noticed something distinctly red on the side of the road. She took another bite of her apple, picking up her pace a bit until she got close enough to tell that it was without a doubt Ness’ baseball cap. 

Paula picked it up, looking it over and just staring at it for a bit. It was definitely Ness’ hat. 

“Okay,” Paula said to herself, folding the hat up and putting it in her bag. “He just dropped his hat. And he was too tired to notice! That’s got to be what happened.” 

Paula glanced back at the ground where she had picked up the hat, and her heart dropped into her stomach. Right in front of where she was standing the grass was stained with blood. No amount of forced optimism could save her now, and she wasn’t even exactly sure what to do. Did she call Tracy? Did she call the police?? 

In the end, Paula took a picture of what she had found before she called Tracy again, running down the road as fast as she could without tripping and falling flat on her face. After three rings, Tracy picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Tracy it’s Paula.”

“Oh! Is everything okay? Do you need my mom to go pick you up?”

“I- I don’t know.” That was probably a good idea. “I think something bad happened to Ness.”   


There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second. “Okay, stay right where you are. I’m going to get my mom to pick you up.”

Paula stopped running, turning back to where she had come from. She really didn’t want to have to wait over there. So instead she just stood where she had stopped. “Okay.”

“Don’t move! We’ll be there soon.” 

Tracy hung up the phone, and there was nothing Paula could think to do but cry.


	2. False Confidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _All that's left of myself___   
_Holes in my false confidence___

** 22 October 2009**

** Annika gave me this for my birthday, and I think what she’s trying to tell me is that she thinks I forgot how to write. Well, take that Annika, I know perfectly well how to write. And I’m going to write in this to prove it.**

** All joking aside, she told me it was to write down how I was feeling. Which is a very broad reason, I guess. But it makes sense. She always knows exactly what she’s doing.**

** So. 18, huh? Sounds both fun and stressful to be honest. I’m not getting officially coronated until January or something (I don’t remember the date, Annika probably knows it) but for all intents and purposes I guess I’m a king now. Which is very very weird to think about. I kind of don’t like it.**

** Enough about how old I am. Ness Paula and Jeff all came over yesterday, and I don’t think I realized just how much I missed them until they had to leave. I guess the next time I’ll see them is in January, but maybe I’ll sneak out at some point before then. Nothing’s stopping me.**

** Okay well other than the advisors. But since when do I listen to them anyway?**

** Oh, Tony also came over, which was exciting. I barely see Ness Paula and Jeff, but I see Tony even less which is a real shame. He’s such a nice person, and a wonderful person to be around. I should try to talk to him more.**

** After everyone had left Annika and I snuck onto the roof of the palace to look at the stars. That’s one thing I always miss whenever I visit Eagleland or Foggyland, the sky is never as clear as it is in Dalaam. **


	3. Rainy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ I will dig a hole_   
_Saving pennies for a rainy day_   
_I'm not scared_   
_I will build a wall_   
_Sensing trouble from a mile away_

Paula didn’t like the Onett Police Station. It had a distinct smell that she didn’t like, and everyone always just looked and acted a little off all the time. Ness had told her stories about this place and all of them she did not like at all. She didn’t trust the Onett Police Department, but where else was she supposed to go in this case. 

  
After a painfully long wait of them just talking, someone pulled Paula back into an interrogation room of sorts. She had been asked all kinds of questions by some officer she didn’t remember the name of. 

_ “When was the last time you saw Ness?” _

_ “How close were you two?” _

_ “Was there any reason Ness would try to run away from home?” _

The entire process was nauseating and disorienting, and she wasn’t even sure if they had bothered to call her parents to make sure they knew where she was. By the time they were done, Ness’ mom asked her if she wanted to go back home to Twoson or if she wanted to go back to their house just in case.

_ ‘In case what?’ _ Paula thought to herself.  _ ‘In case he comes back?’ _

Either way, she said she wanted to go back to their house so she could call Jeff and Pu. Her house did have a landline, but she didn’t want to make her parents any more worried about her than they already constantly are. Besides, by this point Pu was already up. And he would know what to do. He always did. 

“If you need anything, I’ll be upstairs.” Ness’ mom said with a smile. Paula could tell it was faked.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

After Ness’ mom had went up the stairs and Paula had heard the sound of a bedroom door closing, she leaned up against the wall, watching King sleep on the ground next to the couch as she picked up the phone and dialed the number for Dalaam palace. 

_ He’s dead you know. _ Ring.  _ There’s no other explanation for what could have happened to him.  _ Ring.  _ There’s no point in looking for him. _ Ring.  _ You should just go home.  _ Ring. _ _

Someone finally picked up the phone on the other end.

"You have reached the palace Dalaam of the beloved prince Purushottam of Chommo. May we ask who is speaking?"

Paula sighed. “It’s Paula Jones. I was there yesterday, remember?”

"... And what is your business with the prince?"

“I need to talk to him, it’s important.”

"We will consult with the prince on your identity. Please hold."

“Okay, thanks.” Even though she sounded polite, she wanted to throw the phone across the room. This happened every time she tried to call the palace. She understands the security measures, but do they really think someone's going to kill him over the phone?

After another eternity of waiting, she was finally taken off of hold. “Hey Paula, what's up?” Pu sounded tired, like he had just woken up. “Did you leave something here?”

“No, uh.” Paula twirled the cord of the phone, unsure of how to phrase what she was trying to say. “Something bad has happened with Ness.” She took a deep breath, tightening her grip on the receiver of the phone. “We don't know where he is, and I found his hat by the side of the road, and-” 

Pu must have realized Paula was just about ready to start crying, because he started reassuring her right away. “Hey, we’ll find him! I’ll be over there soon, I’m going to stop by and grab Jeff first. Where are you right now?”

“I’m at Ness’ house.”

“Okay, stay right there, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Paula half listened to him, as per usual, and instead of waiting inside the house she opted to wait  _ outside _ , pacing as she waited for Pu to arrive as the sun set.

Eventually she heard the telltale signs of a teleport, Pu whizzing past her and nearly running into Porky’s house next door.

“Pu!” Paula rushed over to him to make sure he was okay, almost completely missing that he had brought Jeff with him.

“I’ll never get used to those things,” Jeff brushed soot off his clothes. “It gives me a headache.”

“Don't complain, it’s convenient.” Pu shrugged before turning to Paula. “Hey Paula bear, sorry I took so long. This kid sleeps like a rock.”

“Hey, sorry for waking you up…” 

“Contrary to popular belief I’m actually a bat and am nocturnal. Hoot. Hoot.” Jeff’s voice was completely deadpan, which caused Paula to lose her composure and start laughing.

Pu rolled his eyes at Jeff and his comment. “Where did you say you found Ness’ hat, Paula?”

“Oh, uh, on the side of the road between Onett and Twoson. Tracy had called me to ask if Ness stayed over at my house last night because he never came home, so I was walking over there to help her look for him and uh… well, yeah. That’s everything.” Paula wrung her hands together, staring at the ground.

Pu nodded, mentally taking notes on everything Paula was saying. “What time did you two get home last night?”

“Uh, about three? AM.”

“Ness  _ walked  _ home at three AM?” Jeff asked. “Why would he do that?”

“Well Onett isn’t that far from Twoson, and I live on the edge of town. And it’s not like Ness is defenseless or anything!”

“Yeah, that’s what makes this so weird. Ness wouldn’t just go missing. And there’s nothing strong enough to take him down.” Pu agreed. 

“Well aside from a semi-truck.”

“Jeff!” 

“Hey, you’re the one that woke me up at three in the morning for a roadtrip.” Jeff crossed his arms, sitting on the front porch of Ness’ house. “I wonder if it has something to do with that kid that used to live next door.”

“How?” Paula sat down on the grass. “He’s been gone for years.” 

“Just a thought, I guess. He caused a lot of trouble for us before.”

“Okay, well, I think we should eat something and then go look for Ness before I take Paula home.” Pu reached out a hand for Paula. “Get up you two.”

“Eat something? I just woke up!”

“Jeff, that’s called breakfast.” Paula took Pu’s hand, pulling herself off the ground. “Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone and go eat a burger.”

“You’re giving me flashbacks, Paula, and I don’t like this.” Jeff stood up, stepping away from the porch. “I haven’t had a burger in two years.”

“Sorry to end that miserable two year drought without burgers then, c’mon, let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank <strike> not only God, but also Jesus </strike> my lovely s/o ryukogo for writing the Dalaamese official's half of the phone conversation.


	4. Happier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _ I want to raise your spirits_   
_I want to see you smile but_   
_Know that means I'll have to leave_

_ Text messages retrieved from Paula Jones’ cell phone, dated August 27th, 2009._

_Seized by the Onett Police Force (Onett, Washington) for use in a Missing Persons case._

_ 9:40 AM _

Happy birthday! 

_ 9:41 AM _

hey! Thanks pau

_ 9:41 AM _

what are you doing right now?

_ 9:41 AM _

Not much, really. 

_ 9:42 AM _

You should look outside your window.

_ 9:42 AM _

thats cryptic

_ 9:42 AM _

oh my god

_ 9:42 AM _

ill be downstairs in five minutes

_ 5:25 PM _

hey, you still alive?

_ 5:26 PM _

Are you?

_ 5:26 PM _

debatably

_ 5:26 PM _

thanks for hanging out with me today though

_ 5:27 PM _

Oh! It was really fun.

_ 5:27 PM _

I’d spend time with you any day, really.

_ 5:27 PM _

it’s a good thing you live so close then

_ 5:25 PM _

compared to everyone else, at least

_ 5:28 PM _

Yeah, guess so.

_ 5:28 PM _

Gotta go now, though. Mom wants me to help make dinner.

_ 5:28 PM _

at 5?

_ 5:28 PM _

Yeah, she’s been trying to eat earlier.

_ 5:29 PM _

Not everyone eats at 10 at night, Ness.

_ 5:29 PM _

you act like i do that all the time

_ 5:29 PM _

You do.

_ 5:29 PM _

Byeeeee, talk to you tomorrow.

_ 5:30 PM _

cya


End file.
